Don't Use Your Words
by moonrainer
Summary: When James Potter struggles to find a way to convey his love to Lily Evans, he receives unexpected help from a friend.


**A/N** All the characters and places you recognise here are based on J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The story below however is entirely my own.

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"This is getting ridiculous."

James didn't even look up when he heard Sirius enter their dormitory again. For the last four hours, he had been bent over a piece of parchment, frantically trying to get his head straight.

"You should leave it, Prongs. It's Saturday night! Come down to the common room and sit with us! Benjy Fenwick has bewitched his Transfiguration textbook to make it sing inappropriate poems about Snivellus." He snickered.

Not really listening, James shook his head. Why did this have to be so difficult?

"Look, mate." Sirius sat down next to him on the bed and put his hand on James's shoulder. "I hate to break it to you, but Evans is kind of a lost cause."

"For how long have you been telling me that now?" James managed to smirk at Sirius, even though he actually felt disheartened. All week he had been trying to get it together and finally find the right words to tell Lily Evans … what exactly? This was where his problem lay.

A small, mousy-haired boy appeared at the door.

"What are you two up to in here?" Peter inquired curiously. He tried to sound casual, but it was evident that he had followed Sirius straight away in order not to miss out on anything. James sometimes wondered if Peter could ever just be on his own.

"Nothing, Wormy." Sirius yawned and got up. "James is just going crazy over Evans, as per usual." Rolling his eyes, James pretended to be amused, but judging by the look of sudden worry on Peter's face, his actual desperation must have shown regardless.

"Anyway," Sirius said, grabbing a chocolate frog from his bedside table, "I'll be downstairs having fun. Join me once you've realised that we are better company than any old piece of parchment could ever be!" He winked at James before he slipped out of the dorm room.

Huddling again over the letter that he still hadn't even started writing, James only realised after a few moments that he wasn't alone. When he lifted his gaze, Peter was still eyeing him anxiously.

"Are you okay, Prongs?"

"Yeah," James replied, but couldn't suppress a little sigh at the end. "You should go hang with the others. I'll probably be coming down in a bit, too…" He trailed off, staring out of the window. Why did it have to be so hard?

Peter wandered over to his own bed right next to James's and took a seat, facing him. "If you need me, you know…"

"Thanks," James said. "I appreciate that, mate, but I don't think that you can help me right now." He couldn't quite keep the hint of sadness out of his voice, and that bothered him. Normally, he found it fairly easy to get rid of negativity, but those past few days had seemed uncommonly dark for him. Maybe Sirius was right. Maybe it was time to give up, at last.

Peter caught his attention by clearing his throat. "I … I think you're doing it wrong."

"What?" James asked, bewildered. Had Peter just spontaneously given him his own opinion? This was a novelty.

"It's not going to work that way. With Lily I mean. Obviously." He shifted his weight nervously, his eyes fixed on his hands. James's jaw dropped a little.

"And what exactly is it that you think I'm doing wrong?" he questioned calmly, making an effort not to sound angry so that he wouldn't scare Peter off.

"Words," Peter simply said, still not courageous enough to look James in the eye. "You … you're talking too much."

This struck James as odd. Even though he considered himself an outgoing person, he didn't think that he was overly talkative.

"But you have to show her," Peter went on, fiddling with a loose thread at the end of his sleeve.

"Show her what?"

"That you genuinely care about her. And that you deserve her." When James didn't say anything, Peter finally looked up and asked with a sudden plainness: "You do though, don't you?"

For a moment, James hesitated. Did he? Of course he cared; there was no doubt about it. He had been infatuated with Lily for several years now, and all he wanted was to see her happy and safe, smiling as if there was no care in the world. But was he himself worthy of that smile?

"From what you always tell her it would seem like it." Pausing, Peter focused on his hands again. "But then … you're not proving it."

James stared at him, flabbergasted. "Not proving it?" he managed to repeat. "But…"

"Think about it," Peter interrupted him, uncommonly agitated. "All you do is show off in front of her and ask her to go out with you. Not to mention the pranks." Noticing James's stare, he quickly added, "Which are fabulous of course! But she never seems to find them funny."

That made James think. Peter was right. No matter how hard he tried to impress Lily, it never worked. Just like this morning in Potions, when he had turned Professor Slughorn's hair the colour of the sleeping draught they were making (bright purple) without him noticing. Even though most of the class had found it to be a great joke, Lily hadn't seemed very amused. Coming to think of it…

"She told me to grow up at least three times this past week," he mused. Peter nodded.

"So… What do you suggest I do?"

Peter looked uncomfortable, probably dreading what he was about to say. "Well, erm … you might want to- Perhaps you could- I mean it would be best if you … maybe try to keep a … low profile?"

"You mean I should behave myself," James laughed.

Realising that James wasn't going to be angry at him, Peter stopped stammering. "Yeah," he confirmed. "Show her that you can! And…" He apprehensively lowered his voice again. "Maybe you should stop … going after her. At least for a while."

"Because…?" James inquired.

"Because she'll miss you!" James couldn't help but snort, but Peter went on, "And it will also convey your maturity! She will finally see how great you are! And then she'll come to _you_ and ask _you_ for a date!" Peter's eyes were gleaming.

"Yeah, right!" James laughed. "I'm already happy if she prefers my company to that of the giant squid."

But on the whole, all of this didn't sound too unreasonable to James. He probably just had to take a step back. He could tell Lily all he wanted, but if he never actually made an effort to convince her that he was a sensible man instead of a foolish boy, she would never want to be with him. It was time for him to be responsible.

James suddenly felt stupid. Why hadn't he thought of this? All he wanted to do was write Lily another letter containing new words to repeat the old question: _When will you finally understand how great we'd be together?_ Of course that wouldn't have worked; it hadn't worked for years.

"I didn't realise you knew so much about people, pal."

Peter shrugged. "I listen and watch. Not much else for me to do anyway." He gave James a little wistful smile, who looked away guiltily. It was true that Peter didn't get many opportunities to show his worth, and he couldn't help but feel that this was partly James's own fault.

To change the topic, James quickly said, "Alright then, I'll just … finish off my Herbology essay now. I'll come to the common room in a couple of minutes, promise."

"Okay," Peter beamed contentedly, making his way to the door. When James looked at him, he felt sorry for rarely giving him enough credit. Peter was certainly not a remarkable student or dazzling personality, but he had great qualities, one of which was being a loyal and helpful friend.

"Hey, Pete?" The small boy turned around eagerly. James smiled at him, shaking his head a little. "Thank you."

When he left the dormitory, Peter Pettigrew seemed to be glowing with happiness.

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 **A/N** Thanks for making it this far, I really appreciate you reading this story. All kinds of reviews are very welcome, but only if you like of course!

This fic is an attempt to show Peter in a different light, because he is usually portrayed rather negatively. I firmly believe that we all have good and bad sides, so why not focus on the good ones of the baddies too every once in a while?


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